16 August 2024
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
The major golfing season of 2024 culminated with a victory for Xander Schauffele at Royal Troon and one Irish golfer secured an impressive sixth-placed finish.
The Open Championship in July represented the end of an exhilarating set of major events in a year that was dominated by American golfers.
From the start of the year to the period following the Olympic golfing events in August, the Official Golf World Rankings changed significantly and that has seen many Irish star’s positions fluctuate.
Here we will look at the Irish players with the greatest standings in the sport now that the year’s major events have passed.
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry is a legendary name within Irish sport in general and he is still a high-level player in the current professional golfing climate.
He entered 2024 ranked 39th in the world and as of mid-August has improved to 29th place following impressive major finishes in the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.
The Dublin-born player’s strong 2024 showing has also seen an upturn in his championship credentials ahead of the 2025 majors. In the golf odds, his greatest chance of pulling off an upset is predicted to come at The Open Championship in which he is offered at 28/1 to win.
A lot of emotions after those last 10 days in Paris.
Growing up I never even dreamt of being in the Olympics as a golfer so to become a 2 time Olympian this week was just very surreal.
I really wish I could have gave it a better run this week but I gave it my best and that’s… pic.twitter.com/8atNATlxf4
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) August 5, 2024
Lowry finished sixth in the final leg of the four majors this year and he performed an identical feat in the PGA Championship too. That pair of admirable outings has seen the two-time Ryder Cup champion strengthen his position as the highest world-ranked Irishman and provide a glimmer of hope that more success could be yet to come.
Seamus Power
Seamus Power is another Irish golfing veteran who has contrastingly endured a poor 2024 major season.
The seven-time professional winner was cut at the halfway point in the US Open and that represented his only major appearance of the year. He achieved a fairly strong tied 64th-placed finish in The Players Championship although that did not save him from tumbling down the rankings.
Power went into 2024 ranked firmly in the top 100 at the 78th position but has fallen as far as 122nd at the tail end of summer.
The 37-year-old would have to mount a remarkable rejuvenation to threaten the top 30 rankings again – which is a position he occupied less than two years ago.
Padraig Harrington
Padraig Harrington has fallen 72 positions in the rankings since the turn of the year. He insists that he will not retire yet despite his poor 2024 form representing a fraction of his peak capabilities.
The three-time major winner has a claim to being Ireland’s greatest-ever played but at 312 in the rankings, he is an astronomical distance from being the best in 2024.
Fascinating insight into the role fitness has played in the career of @padraig_h 💪 pic.twitter.com/9u6q5hfo29
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 11, 2024
Harrington entered the PGA Championship and The Open Championship this year. In the former, he was cut at the halfway point, although in the latter his tied-22nd place finish was more than respectable.
His lack of consistency both on the green and in participating has cost him though. He has rarely secured strong finishes across the year and has only starred in 26 events following the break for the Olympics.
Ultimately, Ireland can not boast of a plethora of top golfing names as of 2024. However, in the coming years, a new generation will surely break through and the nation will hope that one or two new faces can reach the peaks that the likes of Lowry and Harrington have in the past.